this is amazing Options

[mrbubblehead]

what will this do to the classic car world?

http://www.break.com/index/why-3d-printing...ick-ass-2421396

[eric9144]

If you think the medical applications are 'far fetched' I suggest you have a look at this:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/patient-...0-1226593075470

Sure they're not printing tissues etc, but still...amazing stuff!

3D printing is going to be a world changer, people just dont realize it yet.

[zonedoubt]

If you think the medical applications are 'far fetched'

I don't think the medical usage is far fetched. The skull replacement prototype wàs made on a one million dollar machine by highly knowledgable scientists with an engineered plastic. Worlds apart from a hobbyist with few thousand dollar 3d printer dabbling with Sketchup. All I'm saying is that people at home with 3d printers aren't going to be replacing factories anytime soon.

Good opinion piece here: http://investing.covestor.com/2013/01/3d-p...r-go-mainstream

[VaccaRabite]

If you think the medical applications are 'far fetched'

I don't think the medical usage is far fetched. The skull replacement prototype wàs made on a one million dollar machine by highly knowledgable scientists with an engineered plastic. Worlds apart from a hobbyist with few thousand dollar 3d printer dabbling with Sketchup. All I'm saying is that people at home with 3d printers aren't going to be replacing factories anytime soon.

Good opinion piece here: http://investing.covestor.com/2013/01/3d-p...r-go-mainstream

So they ARE making body parts... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

We are't saying its RIGHT NOW.
We are saying that in 10 - 20 years this is a tech that COULD change everything.
Yeah, resolution is currently expensive and hard to get. But this is tech already in the hands of common folks like you and I.

In 1993, super computers took labs and science nerds to operate. Digital cameras were horrible unless you could pay 10s of thousands of dollars, and even then they were only 3-5mp. Digital media was still in the floppy disk drive era. Look at where we are now. Every one of us is running a super computer. Key fobs hold well over 100gb. A camera smaller then my wallet will shoot 12 mp images.

Unless there is a specific roadblock laid for 3D printing, I expect it to follow a similar curve, and the down stream effects will be just as disruptive as internet commerce was for brick and morter.

Zach

[zonedoubt]

In 1993, super computers took labs and science nerds to operate. Digital cameras were horrible unless you could pay 10s of thousands of dollars, and even then they were only 3-5mp. Digital media was still in the floppy disk drive era. Look at where we are now. Every one of us is running a super computer. Key fobs hold well over 100gb. A camera smaller then my wallet will shoot 12 mp images.

Unless there is a specific roadblock laid for 3D printing, I expect it to follow a similar curve, and the down stream effects will be just as disruptive as internet commerce was for brick and morter.

It is a slim comparison between a USB stick and a 3D printer. Just because one can buy a 3d printer and plug it into their computer doesn't make them a designer or engineer.

I think the roadblock for the average person is the design skills and engineering know-how required to create digital CAD files. Then there is the knowledge of materials, quality control, tolerances, etc, etc. Just speaking from experience, these aren't easily learned and take hundreds if not thousands of hours to master. Knocking out a cute keychain on a 3d printer is a far stretch from making a usable part for a common household item.

Hey, I'm all on board with this "new" technology and will probably get a 3d printer to muck around with once the prices are reasonable. My knowledge and experience with Solidworks, AutoCAD, and industrial parts design and application would likely make it easy to pick up and learn.

Hobbyists and entrepreneurs are using them to create things that weren't possible outside of a production line setting and that's great. For your comment that this tech will be as disruptive to brick and mortar stores as is e-commerce, I think it really matters what goods you are talking about. I just can't envision a scenario where every household has a 3d printer and Jim Bob is sitting down in front of a CAD program modelling a replacement valve seat for his broken kitchen faucet. One of the comments in that article I posted might illustrate my point better:

You can buy a counter-top bread maker on Amazon for a little more than $100. The ingredients for a loaf of bread are shelf stable, widely available, and probably amount to about $3. But the existence of this device hasn't put a dent in bread sales. Over 2 billion loaves of bread were sold in the U.S. last year. Why? because a loaf of bread is about $3.50 at retail. And it's already made and in a bag.

Remember that Seinfeld episode where Kramer has the bright idea of a pizza business where one can make their own pie? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

Some professional photographers would say that the availability of high resolution feature-laden digital cameras has disillusioned some into thinking they can do the job of a professional photographer. When in fact there is the same requirements of training, experience, and practice required of some other professionals. As a result quality of photography has suffered.

[rwilner]

...

I think the roadblock for the average person is the design skills and engineering know-how required to create digital CAD files.
...

I just can't envision a scenario where every household has a 3d printer and Jim Bob is sitting down in front of a CAD program modelling a replacement valve seat for his broken kitchen faucet.

I think this problem could be easily overcome by making the driving design file available for download. Then the process would be roughly equivalent to a user downloading and printing out an owner's manual.